Garrett irked that Holmes didn’t train properly for conditioning test

Holmes, safety Brodney Pool and running back Felix Jones failed the test Sunday. Garrett has yet to schedule another test for the three, preferring that they participate in “remedial running” under the direction of strength and conditioning coach Mike Woicik.

“We need to make sure they are getting ready to run the conditioning test, which, in turn, will help them be ready to practice football,” Garrett said Tuesday.

Of the three, Garrett seemed most disappointed with Holmes, a youngster who spent most of last season on the practice squad and who was expected to compete for the No. 3 receiver spot.

According to Garrett, running backs have to run 50 yards in 7 seconds. Receivers and defensive backs have to run 60 yards in eight seconds. The players have to run two sets of 10 with rest in between.

“He was doing a lot more long-distance running,” Garrett said. “He wasn’t ready to do what he needed to do. It’s a good learning experience for him. But he needs to follow the prescribed running. And if he had done that, he would have done what the 87 other guys did on the conditioning test.”

Garrett said Pool, a free-agent signee who is competing with Barry Church for a starting job, made the same mistake.

“(Long-distance running) doesn’t get you ready to play football,” Garrett said. “You can be a marathoner. You can be in the greatest shape to run 26.2 miles with anybody in the world and you probably wouldn’t do really well on that conditioning test. It’s designed to get you ready to play football.”